Dante Cunningham Bio: NBA, CBA, Controversies & Salary

Your potential is what makes you shine regardless of the background you hold. Dante Cunningham is an American basketball player who is currently unfolding bulks of triumph in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA).

He plays for the Fujian Sturgeons of the CBA. CBA is the premium men’s basketball league in China.

He has also been associated with the Portland Trail Blazers, Charlotte Bobcats, Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Pelicans, Brooklyn Nets, and San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Cunningham played college basketball for the Villanova Wildcats, representing Villanova University.

Today, we will be talking about Dante Cunningham’s personal and professional life. Let’s get started.

Quick Facts about Dante Cunningham

Dante Cunningham – Early Life and Family

Dante Cunningham was born on April 22, 1987, in Clinton, Maryland, United States. He was born to proud parents Ron Cunningham and Searcy Blankenship.

When talking about his siblings, he has an older sister Davalyn Cunningham. They both grew up together in Clinton creating beautiful memories with their parents.

The love for basketball runs in the blood of the Cunningham family. Davalyn Cunningham is also a basketball player. She has played for the Orlando Miracle of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA).

Dante Cunningham; Age, Height, and Personality

As of now, Dante is 35 years old and is born under the sun-sign Taurus. Cunningham stands out with an outstanding height of 6 feet 8 inches (203 cm). Likewise, with regular exercise and a physical diet, he weighs around 104 kg.

When describing his physical appearance, Dante has Bald hair with Dark Brown pair of eyes. Sadly the information regarding the basketball player’s body measurement is not available at the moment.

Dante Cunningham – High School Basketball Career

Cunningham first went to St. John’s College High School in Washington D.C. He recorded 10 points per game and 7.4 rebounds on average as a high school junior.

Cunningham was a teammate with Dwayne Anderson at high school. The duo played together in university as well. Anderson later played in the German Basketball League.

Cunningham then transferred to Potomac High School. The transition was made in his senior year. He led the Potomac Wolverines to a 27–0 season under Head Coach Rico Reed’s mentorship.

He recorded 13 rebounds, 20 points, and 4 blocked shots per game for the Potomac Wolverines. Cunningham was then named the Washington Post Metropolitan Player of the Year.

Dante Cunningham – College Career

Cunninghan went to Villanova University, Villanova, Pennsylvania. He appeared in all 33 games with the Villanova Wildcats. In fact, he started 4 games as a college freshman.

He also contributed to leading the Villanova Wildcats to a massive score in his senior year, receiving the Big East Most Improved Player award.

Cunningham then made efforts to lead the Villanova Wildcats to their first Final Four appearance since 1985.

Dante Cunningham – Professional Basketball Career

National Basketball League (NBA)

He played his NBA debut game in mid-2009.

Portland Trail Blazers

Cunningham played for the Portland Trail Blazers for around two years, from 2009-2011. The Portland Trail Blazers drafted him 33rd overall in the 2009 NBA draft.

He has also played for the Portland Trail Blazers’ Las Vegas Summer League team. He averaged over 18 points and 5 rebounds per game in four contests at the league.

Cunningham made an official rookie scale contract with the Portland Trail Blazers on August 21, 2009.

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Charlotte Bobcats

Cunningham was associated with the Charlotte Bobcats for a concise period.

The Portland Trail Blazers traded him to the Charlotte Bobcats on February 24, 2011. The trade was made to acquire Gerald Wallace.

Joel Przybilla, Sean Marks, and two other future first-round draft pick prospects were also traded along with Cunningham.

Memphis Grizzlies

The Memphis Grizzlies sent a three-year offer sheet worth $7 million to Cunningham on December 20, 2011.

Cunningham didn’t receive such an amount from the Charlotte Bobcats. The Bobcats later declined to match the offer after hearing it.

Henceforth, Cunningham signed a contract to play for the Memphis Grizzlies.

Minnesota Timberwolves

The Minnesota Timberwolves traded Cunningham to the New Orleans Pelicans on July 24, 2012. The trade was made to acquire Wayne Ellington.

New Orleans Pelicans

Cunningham signed a contract with the New Orleans Pelicans on December 4, 2012. He later signed his contract with the New Orleans Pelicans on July 9, 2015.

Brooklyn Nets

The New Orleans Pelicans traded Cunningham to Sab Antonia Spurs on February 8, 2018. The trade was made to acquire Rashad Vaughn.

San Antonio Spurs

Cunningham signed a contract with the San Antonio Spurs on July 20, 2018.

Dante Cunningham – Chinese Basketball League (CBA)

Cunningham spent a considerable time of his career playing within the NBA. He played for a total of seven NBA teams.

He was a part of 715 regular-season games and 21 playoff contests. His contract with the San Antonio Spurs expired in the spring of 2019. His status then changed to a free agent.

The Fujian Sturgeons of CBA then signed Cunningham. He replaced Amar’e Stoudemire in the team.

You can see all essential news and updates on Cunningham on the website of Roto World.

Fujian Sturgeons

Fujian Sturgeons are a Chinese professional men’s basketball team that plays in the CBA. The team is based in Jinjiang, Quanzhou, Fujian.

Cunningham made it to the list of the Fujian Sturgeons squad. He debuted for them in the CBA on December 12, 2019.

He recorded 14 points and eight rebounds in his debut game. In fact, it turned out to be a 111–107 victory over the Beijing Ducks.

Along with another Fujian Sturgeons’ foreign player Eugene Jeter, Cunningham left China for the United States in early 2020. They did so because the CBA season was postponed since late January due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

They could not return before the season’s restart. Hence, Ty Lawson substituted Dante Cunningham after the restart of the CBA season on June 20.

Lawson was the only player from a foreign land who stayed in China and represented the Fujian Sturgeons.

You can see Dante Cunningham’s career statistics on the website of basketball reference.

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Dante Cunningham

– Wife and Son

Cunningham is not dating anyone and is currently living a single life. In the past, he was in a relationship with Miryah Herron. The basketball player has not revealed much information about his girlfriend. However, it is said that Herron has two daughters from her previous marriage.

After Dante started dating Miryah, he adopted two kids. However, after a legal issue, Dante and Miryah separated from each other.

From that time, the player is not rumored with any other ladies and is enjoying his life with two adopted kids.

Senior Cunningham is seen uploading pictures of little Cunningham on Instagram very often. The father-son duo compliments each other.

Dante Cunningham – Controversies

Cunningham has been a part of quite a few controversies. He has also been a part of a legal suit.

Accused of domestic abuse

Cunningham was charged with felony domestic assault in April 2013. His then, Miryah Herron, accused him of choking her and slamming her head against a wall.

He was also accused of sending threatening messages to the same person.

Cunningham met Herron in 2012. He lived with her for 8 months, adopting her two children in a hasty start to their relationship.

The former couple argued on April 3, 2013, giving premises to all the upcoming problems.

Herron said that Cunningham had never assaulted or abused her before that night. She further added that it might have happened because Cunningham was under the influence of alcohol.

Cunningham received massive hate from people who once used to be his fans and well-wishers.

His team of then, the Minnesota Timberwolves, was also heavily criticized for letting him play. However, the legal suit was dropped in August of the same year after an investigation.

It was revealed that she fabricated evidence to show Cunningham guilty. Moreover, there were inconsistencies in her side of the story.

Besides, the NBA teams showed reluctance to consider signing Cunningham. The hesitation must have escalated due to the recent Ray Rice domestic abuse suit that rocked the National Football League (NFL).

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Driving Under Influence (DUO)

Cunningham was suspended without any pay for negligently operating a motor vehicle. He pleaded guilty to driving after having consumed alcohol. The incident was committed in violation of the law of the State of Washington.

Cunningham perpetrated the incident in June 2016. He was driving 67 miles per hour in a 40 mph zone when the incident occurred. The police said that he smelled like alcohol. His eyes were also bloodshot and watery.

He failed on a field sobriety test with a blood-alcohol content initially measured at .094. Washington, on the other hand, has a limit of .08.

Cunningham’s attorney initially pleaded not guilty. They later transitioned to pleading guilty.

Dante Cunningham – Net Worth

Cunningham has earned some really good money from his NBA career. Most of his earning income comes from his basketball career. Without any doubt, Dante lives a comfortable and lavish life.

Dante Cunningham’s net worth is estimated to be over $15 million.

Moreover, basketball player has accumulated a huge amount of salary amount with different professional basketball teams.

With the Portland Trail Blazers, Dante received $457,588 as a salary amount. Likewise, when in  Memphis Grizzlies and New Orleans Pelicans, Cunningham received $2,000,000 and $2,850,000 as salary.

Not to mention Dante was paid a sum of $2,850,000 from Minnesota Timberwolves.

At present, Dante is living a luxurious and wealthy life with his son, the love of his life. Unfortunately, the information regarding his personal assets, bungalow, and other physical properties. If found, the readers be updated soon.

Dante Cunningham – Social Media Presence

Cunningham is very active on his social media handles.

He shares most of the posts related to his basketball career personal life and activities related to his family on these social media. Cunningham mostly uses Instagram as primary social media to communicate with his fans.

Previously he had a Twitter account with @dlamarc33 username but it is disabled as of now.

On Instagram, Dante is available as @dlamarc33 making 13.7k followers at the moment. Likewise, he has shared around 211 posts on Instagram.

Common Queries about Dante Cunningham

Is Dante Cunningham still associated with the NBA?

Dante Cunningham played for seven teams within the NBA. He was last seen playing in NBA for San Antonio Spurs. His contract with the San Antonio Spurs expired in the spring of 2019.

He then made his Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) on December 12, 2019.

Is Dante Cunningham married?

Dante Cunningham is not married yet.

Does Dante Cunningham have a sister?

Dante Cunningham has a sister, Davalyn Cunningham. She is also a basketball player.

Davalyn Cunningham has played for the Orlando Miracle of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA).

Why did the Pelicans trade, Dante Cunningham?

Pelicans New Orleans is trading forward Dante Cunningham to Brooklyn for guard Rashad Vaughn.